This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-37811529

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
US election: FBI probe into Clinton emails - what we know Hillary Clinton email probe - what was it about?
(6 months later)
After a review of hundreds of thousands of emails, the FBI has once again cleared Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server. The investigation of Hillary Clinton's private email arrangements is once again in the spotlight. So what was it all about?
The first verdict came in July, but in a bombshell announcement on 28 October, the FBI said it had found new emails that "appeared to be pertinent" to its investigation. FBI boss James Comey has been fired because he mishandled the Clinton investigation, says the White House.
The revelation angered the Clinton campaign, and Mr Comey came under fire from some Democrats for allegedly interfering in the election. It's a saga that has dogged the former secretary of state and one which many of her supporters say was responsible for her election defeat.
Donald Trump, meanwhile, seized on the news to accuse Mrs Clinton of grand corruption. This is what we know about it.
Mr Comey now says that after reviewing the newly discovered emails, the FBI has not changed its position that Mrs Clinton's should not face criminal charges.
He has not provided many details but here's what we know about the FBI probe:
Where did they find these emails?
The emails, including some from top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, are believed to have been found on a laptop belonging to her estranged husband, former congressman Anthony Weiner.
In a letter to Congress, Mr Comey said the FBI had discovered the emails "in connection with an unrelated case". He used similar language in the latest letter.
The unrelated case is said to be an inquiry into Mr Wiener, with FBI officials investigating whether he sent sexually explicit emails to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina.
Devices belonging to Ms Abedin and Mr Weiner were seized as part of the investigation.
Anthony Weiner: Behind the scenes of a political marriage
What do we know about the emails?
There are said to be about 650,000 emails in total on the laptop and the FBI is said to have used special software to comb through them.
The aim? To see if any contained classified information.
At the end of the original investigation into Mrs Clinton, Mr Comey said her handling of sensitive material during her tenure as secretary of state was "extremely careless" but not criminal.
FBI investigators had been "working around the clock to process and review" all of the new emails "that were to or from Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state", Mr Comey said.
He did not give any further details.
But US media reports say that investigators established the newly found emails were either personal, or were duplicates of correspondence they had previously reviewed.
What happens next?
The review of emails linked to Mrs Clinton's server is understood to now be complete. according to the New York Times.
But Mr Comey's letter to Congress was very short on detail and it's unclear whether further emails found on the laptop are still being examined.
While the announcement will come as a relief to the Clinton campaign, it does not mean the email scandal will go away.
After all, the FBI's original verdict in July did not stop many Trump supporters from demanding that she be "locked up".
What was the initial scandal about?What was the initial scandal about?
Before becoming secretary of state in 2009, Mrs Clinton set up an email server at her home in Chappaqua, New York, that she used for all work and personal emails during her four years in office.Before becoming secretary of state in 2009, Mrs Clinton set up an email server at her home in Chappaqua, New York, that she used for all work and personal emails during her four years in office.
She did not use, or even activate, a state.gov email account, which would have been hosted on servers owned and managed by the US government.She did not use, or even activate, a state.gov email account, which would have been hosted on servers owned and managed by the US government.
She said it was for convenience but critics said it gave her control over what information entered the public domain. She said it was for convenience.
"I thought using one device would be simpler, and obviously, it hasn't worked out that way," she said.
But critics said it gave her control over what information entered the public domain.
What is the email scandal all about?What is the email scandal all about?
What is Clinton saying? Was it against the law?
When news of the new emails first emerged, Mrs Clinton said she was "confident" they would not change the outcome of the FBI's previous investigation. Probably not. Mrs Clinton's email system existed in a grey area of the law - and one that has been changed several times since she left office.
She was right. When she became secretary of state, the controlling interpretation of the 1950 Federal Records Act was that officials using personal email accounts must ensure that official correspondence is turned over to the government. Ten months after she took office, a new regulation allowed the use of private emails only if federal records were "preserved in the appropriate agency recordkeeping system".
"We're glad this matter is resolved," her campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri said. Mrs Clinton maintains that this requirement was satisfied because most of her emails from her personal account went to, or were forwarded to, people with government accounts, so they were automatically archived. Any other emails were turned over to State Department officials when they issued a request to her - and several of her predecessors - in October 2014.
The candidate herself has not addressed Mr Comey's new letter directly on the campaign trail. A State Department investigation said her arrangement violated government policy, and FBI boss James Comey said in July 2016 that it was careless but not criminal.
What is Trump saying? So why wasn't that the end of it?
Donald Trump says Mrs Clinton is "being protected by a rigged system". The Republican candidate says he believes investigations into his rival will continue. In a bombshell announcement on 28 October, the FBI said it had found new emails that "appeared to be pertinent" to its investigation.
"The rank-and-file special agents at the FBI won't let her get away with her terrible crimes," he said after the latest news broke. The emails, including some from top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, were found on a laptop belonging to her estranged husband, former congressman Anthony Weiner.
"You can't review 650,000 new emails in eight days." The revelation angered the Clinton campaign, and Mr Comey came under fire from some Democrats for allegedly interfering in the election.
What does the FBI's verdict mean? Donald Trump, meanwhile, seized on the news to accuse Mrs Clinton of grand corruption.
Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America reporter, writes: And he praised Mr Comey, saying it "took guts" for him to make the intervention.
But in the final days of a heated election campaign, Mr Comey said that after reviewing the newly discovered emails, the FBI had not changed its position that Mrs Clinton's should not face criminal charges.
Mr Trump changed his tune, saying Mrs Clinton was "being protected by a rigged system".
Did Comey's late intervention swing the election?
Mrs Clinton thinks so, citing it as a major factor in her surprise defeat.
Political analyst Nate Silver agrees, saying it "probably" cost the former first lady a return to the White House as president.
This is what BBC North America reporter Anthony Zurcher said at the time:
When determining the political fallout of this latest development, it's worth remembering that the race between Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton was already tightening in the days leading up to the first Comey letter.When determining the political fallout of this latest development, it's worth remembering that the race between Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton was already tightening in the days leading up to the first Comey letter.
Surveys taken after the revelation indicated that few Americans considered the story grounds for changing their vote. The divide between the two candidates is simply too great to allow much ticket-switching at this point.Surveys taken after the revelation indicated that few Americans considered the story grounds for changing their vote. The divide between the two candidates is simply too great to allow much ticket-switching at this point.
What the story did do was knock Mr Trump out of the headlines for over a week, giving him space to bring disaffected Republicans back into the fold. It also prevented Mrs Clinton from ending the campaign on a positive message and increased negative perceptions of her, which will make it harder for her to govern if she is elected.What the story did do was knock Mr Trump out of the headlines for over a week, giving him space to bring disaffected Republicans back into the fold. It also prevented Mrs Clinton from ending the campaign on a positive message and increased negative perceptions of her, which will make it harder for her to govern if she is elected.
Once this election is in the rear-view mirror, there will have to be a lot of soul-searching within the FBI and the media about how this story has played out and been covered. Following Mr Comey's original letter, the nation's top law-enforcement became a constant source of leaks, as internal factions and disputes spilled into public view.Once this election is in the rear-view mirror, there will have to be a lot of soul-searching within the FBI and the media about how this story has played out and been covered. Following Mr Comey's original letter, the nation's top law-enforcement became a constant source of leaks, as internal factions and disputes spilled into public view.
You can read Anthony's analysis in full here. How FBI email verdict affects election
And what's happened since the election?
The investigation remains closed but the debate about Mr Comey's actions rage on.
The anger felt by Clinton supporters were compounded when it emerged that the FBI had been looking into any links between the Trump campaign and Russia, but Mr Comey chose not to go public with it.
In May, he gave evidence to a Senate Judiciary Committee and defended himself.
He said that it was a "painful" dilemma when he decided to make his October pronouncement, but if he had not come forward about the new Clinton emails, he would have been guilty of concealment.
Mr Comey said he felt "nauseous" at the thought he might have had an impact.
Deconstructing Comey's testimony